Milford: Firms present Woodland School design

MILFORD - Members of the design, landscaping and civil engineering firms tasked with mapping the site of the new Woodland School met before the Planning Board Tuesday night.

Josh Burgel, a representative of CSS Landscaping, discussed the layout of the school’s parking lot, fields, entrances and exits. The design includes a turf soccer field in the upper northwest section of the lot, built to be regulation sized, he said.

In an effort to reduce traffic that spills onto North Vine Street during pick-up and drop-off times, the design includes separate loops for buses and parents. The parents' loop has an 88-car queue built into it.

Harold Rhodes, of 11 Janock Road, objected to the design of the bus loop, saying that the planned handicap bus parking along the side of the bus loop could lead to accidents, especially considering handicap ramps could jut out into the loop.

"I am very worried that over the next 30 years there will a family exiting a van and being struck by a bus," he said.

Board Member Patrick Kennelly responded to Rhodes’ concerns by saying the event of an accident is unlikely in the new design, though "anything is possible."

"I don’t see that someone with a disability would be in any more jeopardy there as they would in the Kohl's parking lot," he said.

Nate Ketchel of the GGO Engineering firm discussed the proposed electrical and water routing.

Other concerns from the board included proper storm water drainage around the fields, adequate water supply to the school, and the basic electrical infrastructure around the turf field to eventually include lighting.

Due to the unresolved issues, the Planning Board will discuss the matter further when they reconvene on Aug. 12.

The current Woodland School is designed to hold 500 students; it now holds 650. The new school will be a three-story, 132,000 square-foot facility on the southernmost portion of the lot and the old school will be demolished. The town has received all of the funding it needs and is now in the design stages.